Maybe I should start my own fad diet: I’m losing a ton of weight as I write. It’s because I’m following a strict regime. I exercise right before and after writing. Ten minutes of calisthenics, before. Forty five minutes of cardio after.
My biggest meal is lunch but it has to be quick. All my meals have to be nutritious and quick. I don’t want fuss or excessive preparation. I don’t want to do too much cleaning. So, I eat oatmeal and eggs. Also, I cut out drinking. I love to make elaborate meals but only do so when I visit my friends—my team—who help me think of new ideas for the book.
Get this: I’ve dropped from 192 to 169 pounds. And today, I have officially made my major fitness goal: falling within the BMI—Body Mass Index—for my height: 5’10”. Who would have thought writing could lead to weight loss? After all, you just sit on your butt all the time.
I think it has to do with being honest with yourself. Here is my delusion in a nutshell: I was a gymnast at one point and I did some weightlifting afterwards, so I’m much thicker than the average guy of my height. I just thought that the BMI didn’t apply to me. And I’m a smart-ass–pretty good at finding fault with just about anything: The BMI was antiquated, made a hundred years ago by some scientist who used an arbitrary formula. It didn’t take into account postmodern training, which now produces big guys. I still thought of myself as this gymnast with an amazing bod. Snort.
But now I realize this was arrogance. And it was denial. And it only hurt me. Writing every day and keeping track of what I write was what made me realize I was not exempt from the laws that govern everyone’s life. Setting small goals and being honest about them–those things are what made me take stock of other parts of my life.
So what do you think? Should I write another book, one that will beat out that Atkin’s Diet and sail to the top of the bestseller’s list? The Detective Fiction Writer’s Diet: Sit On Your Ass and Let the Pounds Melt Away—I like the ring of that.
going through the same thing. went to the doctor’s in january and could not believe i was 180 lbs. have dropped to 158 since then, and it is tied to a discipline that relates to writing every day too. cutting out alcohol most nights did wonders. a la murakami, you should write “what i talk about when i talk about dieting.”
congratulations on reducing. i’m sure you’re experiencing this: all my nice, recently purchased clothes fit loose. so guess what? i’m wearing clothes from over a decade ago, when i was just a pup with ribs sticking out. i look like a time capsule.
cutting out alcohol, i think, is important. it’s basically liquid sugar and it also doesn’t really help with productivity. my paradox: my main character, the detective, is a raging alcoholic…
my pants didn’t fit any longer. lost weight and saved a lot on tailoring. so much so that i then had to tailor some clothes that were as loose as yours.
funny thing about losing weight: even if your clothes are from the last two decades, you feel like a million bucks. i’ve been wearing these crazy bell bottom corduroy comme des garcons pants. who cares…
have you read the harry hole stories? also about a raging alcoholic detective.
will put this on my list. for research, though, i’ve been going to AA meetings…uncomfortable…
Wow, weight loss must be in fashion. I just got onto myftinesspal.com, which has great calorie counts for Viet and other Asian food. I’ve lost 10 lbs. still at 110 lbs which is thick for an Asian woman… but at 55 it’s pretty good. GOing over to read your crime story now.
weight loss, especially in los angeles is like a little black dress: versatile, ever-present, necessary.
You’re my thinspiration! After seeing you, I hàd an ABsession.. btw artist Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba made his workout an art project: running the diameter of the earth…
I’m glad I can be a role model. I try my hardest to inspire with my studliness. Who knew that my rock hard body could touch millions…without getting an STD?